Imagine exercising without even having to pay attention? That's the promise from a growing band of hula-hoop enthusiasts.

Canberra's Hoopbeat founder Susan Corbett is less concerned with lycra and brand-name runners as she is with carefree movement.

She will begin hooping classes for adults next week, promising the element of fun as well as conditioning and toning.

What may be dismissed as a child's play toy has the potential to increase fitness, steady the busy mind, and provide hours of entertainment. Plus take centimetres off your waist.

Using a much larger hoop than the ones found in the playground, "hoopers" move across the floor spinning and twirling and working up some core strength.

Corbett came to a hooping revelation five years ago when she picked up her daughter Tiana's hoop and gave it a whirl.

As it dropped to the floor, she decided to google how it was done. Coming across a wealth of tutorials and videos,

Corbett said she got the hooping bug. The fact she lost 10 centimetres off her waist after committing to hooping for 30 minutes every day for 30 days, she decided to spread the word and now teaches hoopers of all abilities.

Classes will kick off on Tuesday, February 10, at Playing Field Studio in the city and Thursday, February 12, at UC Senior Secondary College in Belconnen.

For more information visit www.hoopbeat.com

Those TDK kids are all right

The Design Kids have decided that there is too much emailing and not enough socialising going on among designers. The solution? TDK Tuesdays.

TDK Tuesdays is a fortnightly event where design students, graduates and professionals move away from their computers, sit down together, have a beer and share ideas.

Launched nationally last year by a savvy and creative young group of forward-thinking designers, the event has reached Canberra.

TDK Tuesdays in Canberra will be held at Honky Tonks in the city, hosted by two local designers, Gabrielle Carrigy and Juliette Dudley.

It's a way for designers to have fun, swap notes, get involved and just generally build a bigger design community where they live.

It would be called "networking" if that word didn't have such unlovely connotations.

Some of the highlights from last year's events included collaborations, internships, people getting hired, magazine swaps, new friendships, and group shows organised.

According to Dudley, "The Design Kids have run some awesome events in other states over the last few years, and having TDK Tuesdays start in Canberra will be just a taste of things to come. I think the atmosphere will be pretty laid-back and welcoming, so it's a good opportunity for young students and graduates to meet other designers in a fun and friendly environment."

More broadly, The Design Kids works with students and fresh new graduates, offering them industry knowledge, exposure and opportunities in the industry which are vital to securing a dream job in graphic design, typography and illustration.

Visit The Design Kids website and follow #TDKTuesdays on social media: thedesignkids.com.au

Twitter: @thedesignkids

Facebook.com/thedesignkids

Awesome science at every turn

Those groovy boffins at Questacon never sleep as they prepare to dazzle us at Enlighten and extend a highly successful free hands-on exhibition at Westfield Woden.

As beer enthusiasts snap up their tickets to the adult-aimed Physics of Beer (exploring the science behind the six-pack) and Laser Tag (you try to shoot people as you negotiate the shadowy world of the Awesome Earth exhibition after dark), Questacon has also extended its hugely popular Fascinating Science exhibition which has been drawing enthusiastic children to explorations of science amid the otherwise brain-deadening school-holiday period.

The travelling show, providing 16 hands-on experiences of mind-bending optical illusions was meant to wind up with back to school but will continue to challenge and excite kids until mid-March.

Meanwhile, tickets to the Enlighten beer and laser tag events are selling fast.

If you are trawling the plaza picking up those last few back-to-school items that weren't quite ready for the start of school this week, console yourself that your kids may get a jump start on their science learning.

Googfest promises the X-factor

Pack your picnic baskets for a night under the stars filled with catchy tunes, tasty treats and family fun at the inaugural Googfest on Saturday night.

Unroll your picnic rugs onto the luscious lawns of Beltana Park in Googong for the free live music event from 5pm.

Googfest is expected to draw in more than 2000 people with its killer music line-up.

Close to Goongong Dam, the new township has sprung up outside Queanbeyan over the last year and Beltana Park is a well-loved communal picnic area within the new settlement.

2013 X-Factor winner Dami Im will be performing alongside fellow X-factor contestant Mary Ann Van Der Horst and local bands, Lavers and Big Boss Groove at the event.

Googong project director Malcolm Leslie said Googfest will be a great way to showcase the new residential community.

"It's been a year since our first residence, and the whole place is looking fantastic and we are very proud of what we have achieved and want to celebrate this with the community," Mr Leslie said.

Mr Leslie hopes that Googfest will become an annual event.

"Our event has a very wide appeal," he said.

The live music event will be hosted by 104.7 radio hosts Scotty and Nige.

A free shuttle service will be running to Googfest from Woden and Queanbeyan bus interchanges. – Sally Coen

A gala for the gift of sight

The inspirational and indefatigable Gabi Hollows will be the guest of honour at a major fundraising dinner which is fast approaching.

The Canberra Branch of the Friends for Fred Hollows have organised a gala dinner to be held in ANZAC Hall at the Australian War Memorial on Thursday, February 19.

There will be a three-course dinner and drinks as well as a G for George " Striking by Night" Sound and Light display at 6.30pm. Entertainment will be by the Stilettos Vocal Group.

Tickets are $100 per person with proceeds from the night to continue the amazing work of restoring sight to those in developing countries and across Australia's indigenous communities.

For bookings, email friendsforfredhollows@gmail.com

What's on:

Saturday:

From 6pm SUNSET CINEMAS Head along to Interstellar (M) at the Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinemas. Gates open at 5pm, movie starts at 8.15pm. Patrick White Lawns, Parkes (in front of the National Library). Fridays are Aperol Spritz Sunset Sessions where all 18+ ticketholders can enjoy a complimentary Spritz sample. Online tickets Adults $19/Concession $15/Volkswagen Polo Class $27/Star Lounge $40 from openaircinemas.com.au. Tickets cost more at the gate.

8pm EDDIE IZZARD After taking it to 25 other countries on five continents, Eddie Izzard will bring his massive Force Majeure world tour to Australia. One of the most acclaimed comedians of his generation, Izzard's unique, tangential, absurd, and surreal comic narratives are lauded for their creativity and wit. Llewellyn Hall. Tickets $91.65 from ticketek.com.au

All weekend

The summerside Festival is a month full of dining events celebrating local and seasonal produce, opportunities to taste the best of the region's wines plus performances, events and exhibitions. Enjoy a lazy long lunch, twilight cinema, live music, a masterclass, champagne and wine tasting, evening tapas, a degustation dining experience or an evening horse ride. On until February 28. Visit thepoachersway.com.au/summerside-festival for a full list of events and prices.

Royal Ballet: Filmed live at Covent Garden in London, Palace Electric is this weekend showing Royal Opera: Donizetti's L'ELISIR D'AMORE. Superstars Bryn Terfel, Lucy Crowe and Vittorio Grigolo in n hilarious staging by Laurent Petty. In cinema February 6, 7, 8 and 11. For tickets visit palacecinemas.com.au.